Pressurized cleaning devices are well known and take many different forms. For example, a garden hose connected to a typical household faucet may be used to provide a source of pressurized "tap" water for a variety of cleaning needs. In other applications, such as a public car wash, a mechanism is provided for selecting pressurized water only, or a predetermined mixture of pressurized water and a concentrate such as soap or wax. A smaller vehicle cleaning system that operates on this principal is disclosed in Futrell U.S. Pat. No. 4,967,960. Likewise, a drain cleaning apparatus operating in this manner is disclosed in Russell U.S. Pat. No. 4,773,113. A larger system employing this principal for cleaning commercial aircraft is disclosed in Vice et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,161,753.
In many of the cleaning devices described above, some types of valves are employed to allow one fluid to intermix with another fluid, thereby providing a solution of predetermined concentration. Such a system using an aspirator-transfer valve is shown in Ostergaard U.S. Pat. No. 4,726,526. Other valve configurations, such as that shown in Potter U.S. Pat. No. 5,069,245, permit the mixing together of two liquids according to plurality of predetermined proportion settings.
In the commercial airline industry, aircraft are typically cleaned extensively on a yearly basis by "teams" of airline employees. Such a task usually involves the use of a variety of cleaning agents and bulky cleaning machinery. It would therefore be desirable to provide a stand-alone cleaning apparatus that would allow multiple users to accomplish specific cleaning tasks without disrupting the other members of the team. It would further be desirable to provide each user with complete control over the strength of the particular cleaning solution being used. Such a system must therefore be capable of providing a constant pressure cleaning solution to each user wherein the cleaning agent to water ratio is continuously adjustable.
Another desirable feature of an airplane cleaning apparatus is that it be portable, so that the device can be taken to a plane, rather than requiring the plane to travel to it. This desirability is especially because hangar space is usually at a premium at maintenance facilities, and airplanes undergoing extensive renovation are usually somewhat immobilized within a repair bay during the performance of the maintenance.
Additionally, a portable cleaning apparatus should be configured to comport with typical airplane sizes and dimensions. One of the more important dimensions of an airplane relates to the clearance between the bottom surface of the wing and fuselage and the ground. Preferably, a portable cleaning apparatus should be sized so that it can be rolled under the fuselage of larger airplanes (such as 747's) so that both sides of the airplane can be cleaned effectively by the device.
Another desirable feature of an aircraft cleaning device is that it be designed to provide a high pressure source of cleaning fluid and water to a user controllable fluid dispensing device, such as a wand, so that the water pressure emanating from the device can perform much of the "work" of cleaning the airplane and removing the dirt and grime from the airplane and its parts.
It is therefore one object of the present invention to provide a portable cleaning apparatus for use with aircraft, that is both efficient, and effective in the cleaning of aircraft.